LEG
PRESS
CORRECT FORM
1) Assume a seated
position in the leg press machine. Your lower back should be pressed
against the back pad, with your ischial tuberosities (your butt bone)
as far back on the bottom pad as possible. This will put you in an
upright, erect position.
Place your feet
on the platform, shoulder width apart with your toes pointed slightly
outward.
2) Release the
weight with your knees in an unlocked position. Begin to lower the
weight by bending at the hips. Do not let your buttocks rise off
of the seat. Doing so will only place added stress on your lower
back.
3) Lower the
sled until you would have to bend at the lower back. Do not go further
than this.
4) As you explode
upward, push through and straighten the hips. Push straight upward
and keep your back/lower spine straight the entire time.
5) Inhale as
you descend, exhale as you push back up.
6) The leg
press can also be done with one leg only on the sled. In this case,
bring the foot toward the center of the sled but only slightly inward
from the position it would be in if you were using two legs.
MUSCLES
USED
SAFETY
CONSIDERATIONS/PRECAUTIONS
The leg press is
often considered a very safe alternative to the squat, however, this
is definitely not true.
What the leg
press truly allows for is your upper thigh muscles to be worked
in position of hip flexion well beyond 90 degrees. If you look in
the third picture, you will see that the hip is maximally flexed.
However, if you do not have that amount of flexibility, you will
end up bending at the lower lumbar spine, and probably much easier
than you would if you were doing a squat.
The key to performing
a leg press correctly is to bend from the hips and keep your buttocks
firmly planted on the seat. Do not let your pelvis tile forward
just to go through more range-of-motion on this exercise.
Another misunderstanding
is the optimal position of the foot. There is no research to suggest
that the position of the foot will force you to use your inner or
outer quadriceps anymore than keeping your feet pointed slightly
outward. In fact the research shows that you will get more
overall quadriceps muscle activity if your feet are in neutral or
slightly pointed outward(1-3)
What turning
your feet excessively inward or outward WILL do is place an unusual
amount of stress on your knee ligaments, which could stretch them
out and make it more likely for you to injure them later.
EFFECTIVENESS
Although not as
effective in terms of overall carryover and functional use as the
squat, the leg press can be a very good leg strengthening exercise.
It allows the muscles of the thigh and hip to be maximally loaded
which is important in developing good leg strength.
HELPFUL
WITH TRAINING FOR
Vitually every
sport can be enhanced by performing a leg press since nearly all sports
require good leg strength.
REFERENCES
1. Signorile
JF, et al: Effect of foot position on the electromygraphical activity
of the superficial quadriceps muscles during the parallel squat and
knee extension. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 1995,
9(3): 182-7.
2. Ninos JC, et al: Electromyographic analysis of the squat performed
in self-selected lower extremity neutral rotation and 30 degrees of
lower extremity turn-out from the self-selected position. JOSPT May
1997, 25(5): 307-15.
3. Signorile JF, et al: The effect of knee and foot position on the
electromyographical activity of the superficial quadriceps. JOSPT
July 1995, 22(1): 2-9. |
